| Recent results from some local retailers seem to belie the current weak state of the sector. According to data released by Statistics SA yesterday, retail sales rose just 0.2% in September from a year earlier following a revised 1% increase in August. And yet numbers from food and drug retailers including Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Clicks and Dis-Chem would suggest stronger growth. Sure, clothing retailers haven't done quite as well. Neither has Massmart, which also relies on sales of non-essential electrical goods and big ticket items. It was SPAR's turn to report yesterday and a strong showing for its 2019 financial year sent its shares sharply higher. While it admits to tough conditions in SA, as well as the other geographies where it has operations, sales are still rising. Harmony Gold Mining was one of the day's other big winners after it released a first-quarter production report - although other gold counters also rose strongly. More on those results to follow, along with numbers from financial services company Peregrine and property groups Investec Property Fund and Indluplace. Also, alternative stock exchange A2X has reached a number of milestones in its first two years of operation. For the past few weeks we have been informing potential investors like yourself about the most promising new investment opportunities in high-growth small companies. Not only have Uprise.Africa built the first FSCA-licensed crowd-funding platform in South Africa, but investors can choose to invest their private funds in return for tradable stock certificates on the ZARX stock exchange. This allows the investor to access private equity opportunities with complete liquidity and no lock up. Follow this link if you'd like to find out more. I hope you have a great day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
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